South East Cheshire Ornithological Society Your local birdwatching group SECOS Bird Summary 2019 SECOS Bird Summary 2019 Contents SECOS Recording Area & main birding sites ..................................................................................... 5 Review of the Year ................................................................................................................................. 5 Systematic List ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Ducks; Geese and Swans (Anatidae) ................................................................................ 7 Swift (Apus apus) ........................................................................................................ 11 Cuckoo (Cuculus canorus) ............................................................................................ 11 Rails; Crakes and Coots (Rallidae) ................................................................................ 12 Common Crane (Grus grus) ......................................................................................... 13 Grebes (Podicipedidae) ................................................................................................ 13 Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) ......................................................................... 14 Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) .................................................................................... 14 Plovers (Charadriidae) ................................................................................................. 14 Sandpipers; Snipes (Scolopacidae) ................................................................................. 15 Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) .......................................................................................... 16 Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) ................................................................................. 18 Herons; Bitterns (Ardeidae) .......................................................................................... 18 Kites; Hawks and Eagles (Accipitridae).......................................................................... 19 Barn Owl (Tyto alba) ................................................................................................ 20 Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) ......................................................................................... 20 Woodpeckers (Picidae) ................................................................................................. 21 Caracaras; Falcons (Falconidae) ................................................................................... 21 Old World Parrots (Psittaculidae) ................................................................................. 21 Great Grey Shrike (Lanius excubitor) ............................................................................ 22 Crows; Jays (Corvidae) ................................................................................................ 22 Tits; Chickadees (Paridae) ............................................................................................ 22 Skylark (Alauda arvensis) ............................................................................................ 23 Swallows; Martins (Hirundinidae) ................................................................................. 23 Cetti’s Warbler (Cettia cetti) ..................................................................................... 24 Long-tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus) ............................................................................ 24 Leaf warblers and allies (Phylloscopidae) ....................................................................... 24 Reed warblers and allies (Acrocephalidae) ..................................................................... 24 Sylviid Babblers (Sylviidae) .......................................................................................... 25 Goldcrest (Regulus regulus) .......................................................................................... 25 Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes) ..................................................................................... 25 Nuthatch (Sitta europaea) ............................................................................................. 26 Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) .................................................................................... 26 Thrushes (Turdidae) .................................................................................................... 26 Chats; Old World Flycatchers (Muscicapidae) ................................................................ 27 Dipper (Cinclus cinclus) ............................................................................................... 28 Dunnock (Prunella modularis) ...................................................................................... 29 Wagtails; Pipits (Motacillidae) ...................................................................................... 29 Finches (Fringillidae) ................................................................................................... 30 Buntings (Emberizidae) ................................................................................................ 31 Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 33 National Rarities ......................................................................................................... 33 CAWOS Rarities ......................................................................................................... 33 BoCC4 Red list ............................................................................................................ 34 BoCC4 Amber list ....................................................................................................... 34 Cheshire Region Biodiversity Action Plan ..................................................................... 35 Species Action Plans .................................................................................................... 35 Cheshire region BAP Species ........................................................................................ 35 P a g e 3 SECOS Bird Summary 2019 The list below is a compilation from the Sightings Section of the Society’s monthly newsletter. The inclusion of detailed observations from the fieldworkers covering the SECOS Winter and Breeding Bird Survey [ SWaBBS ] patches have boosted the records and will no doubt improve the depth of our understanding of our local avifauna, especially records of breeding activity and success. Following feedback from Sheila Blamire, Database Chairman at CAWOS, I have included a date / month for the count where possible. • I would like to acknowledge the input by Colin Lythgoe to this document. He has helped me hugely in proof-reading it and offering me feedback. I’d also like to thank him, belatedly, for his contributions towards the 2018 and 2017 editions • following a suggestion from Colin, I have included stats from the SECOS Winter Garden Bird Survey. My thanks to its co-ordinator, Trevor Clowes for giving me access to the database. • the inclusion of tables has only been partially successful - maxima for all months not known and I believe the inclusion of ‘n/c’ ( no count ) and ‘0’ would make the table look busy! • Andy Livermore, the CAWOS Systematic List Editor has given me a list of the species ( with counts ) that the county would consider a flock of birds as ‘significant’ – see individual species below for the details • my thanks to all those who added their sightings to the various log books, blogs, etc. or sent them directly to me by email / text ( or to a distribution list I’m a ‘member’ of ) • no attempt has been made to verify the sighting. This report is merely a summary of those records and if there wasn’t a count alongside any sighting, it’s recorded as one individual • some records may have been those of the bird(s) seen only in flight or flying over • sightings entered in logbook(s) retrospectively may not be included • my database, Wildlife Recorder®, sorted the Systematic List / sequence used in this summary - the sequence used by the International Ornithologists’ Union - IOC 10.1 - January 2020 • there were almost 7600 sightings for 2019 and, inevitably, errors and omissions will have crept in, along with incomplete records i.e. where I didn’t note count, gender, age, breeding status, etc. This number is considerably less than in 2018 due to the way I have consolidated the records • where possible, I have included the first and last record of the season for migrants • unless previously recorded at that site, details of breeding have been omitted for ‘sensitive’ species • the SECOS Recording Area is hectads SJ74, 75, 76, 85 and 86 within Cheshire ( there is a map on SECOS website showing the hectads ) • some locations included are just outside the SECOS Recording Area Where the phrase “breeding confirmed” is used it refers to fledglings recorded. I acknowledge that SWaBBS fieldworkers record specific breeding activity, i.e. nests with young, nest with eggs, adults carrying food/faecal sacs and occupied nests - those records are identified using the same description. In 2019 I was granted access to the BTO’s BirdTrack and WeBS databases and the BTO also send me local records for BBS, GBW and other specific